Look Big, Sell Big

Use these branding tactics to give your small company a big, professional image.

By John Williams February 13, 2007

There's no question that small businesses have distinct advantages, such as agility and innovation, in today's marketplace. So, you may ask, why not take advantage of your small stature when branding your company? Why not look small?

Here's why: the comfort factor. To successfully brand your business, you should project an image of strength and stability--traits often associated with big companies. Customers need to trust that you can and will deliver on your promises. They have to feel comfortable with you. You can tell customers you stand behind your products and services, but if your marketing materials scream "amateur" or "mom and pop," forget about it.

It's not about looking conservative; it's about looking professional. After all, big companies don't fall into a one-size-fits-all mold. There's plenty of room for creativity. Consider Apple Computer vs. Microsoft. While their branding couldn't be more different, both project big-company professionalism.

Fortunately, looking like a big company isn't rocket science. The cardinal rule to looking big is to coordinate your promotional materials--from your business cards to your website and everything in between. If your marketing materials don't match, potential customers may believe they're looking at different companies. Here are four easy ways to tie your marketing materials together:

1. Create a clean and uncomplicated logo. Consider the logos of Fortune 500 companies like Nike, Sprint and Target. These huge companies didn't pick clean, simple logos by accident. They chose them because they fit the key requirements of solid logo design: They're easy to remember, they can be resized without losing detail, and they work in one color (for instance, when used in faxes). They're unique and meaningful as well, proving you don't need complex artwork and intricate details to leave an impression.A good logo is essential because it'll appear on--and should match--all of your marketing materials. From a graphics perspective, your logo is your brand foundation. Build it wisely.

2. Make one color yours. Choose a color--preferably one from your logo--and use it throughout your marketing materials. Again, look at the big guys: Target focuses on red; Sprint uses yellow. Notice that each has chosen one color, not two or three.Color plays a huge role in memory recall. As much as possible, your color should set you apart, work with your industry and image, and relate to your brand promise. Most important, the color you choose should appear as the predominant color on every promotional piece you develop.

3. Work with only one or two fonts. Again, your goal is to get customers to remember you and associate your materials with your brand attributes. Fonts, like colors and graphics, project different images. For example, if you want to appear conservative, I would recommend Helvetica.

4. Stay the course. At some point, you may get sick of your brand standards. Unfortunately, this usually occurs at the same time your brand starts resonating with your customers. Or you may want fresh material for a trade show or customer meeting and may be tempted to introduce an exciting new color or unusual font selection. Remind yourself that while consistency isn't always fun, it's the proven path to branding success.

Nowadays, your company's actual size may not matter, but its perceived size does. And looking big will pay off big-time.

-------

John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world's first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.

Highlight Your Brand with a Favicon

Want to capture your web audience? Use a 'favorites icon.'

By John Williams June 12, 2007

By now, you're probably familiar with the term "sticky website." The phrase refers to a site that compels visitors to "stick around." To entice visitors to stick around, however, your site must first project the image that you're a credible (i.e., large) company. If potential customers don't have this comfort factor, they're likely to bounce before they even see what you offer. There are many aspects to developing a credible, "sticky" website, but one easy and valuable way is to create a "favicon."

A "favicon" (short for "favorites icon") is the 16x16 pixel image that appears next to a site name in the navigation bar of many browsers and in browser bookmarks or favorites lists (see MSN and Yahoo! below).

Until recently, only a few sites had favicons. Suddenly they're commonplace, appearing on bookmarks, tabs, URLs and more. In fact, favicons are fast becoming an important aspect of brand identity online. A favicon serves as a visual shortcut to your URL, a "mini-logo" that helps users remember and return to your site. Visitors can quickly identify it in browser tabs without having to read the URL address. And if someone bookmarks your site, your unique favicon will help your site stand out on their favorites list. So the question becomes: How can you distill your brand down to a simple image?

First, look to your logo. Your logo should capture your brand visually, so it works as the perfect foundation for favicon development. Can you translate your logo symbol into a 16x16 format? You will probably need to edit the symbol to make it work. Because of its size, a favicon does not allow for much detail, so it's not the time to be fancy. If your logo design is already too complex, you'll have difficulty reducing it to a favicon. That's why it's important to keep this new branding space in mind if you have not yet created your logo.

If you can't work with your logo, try using the initial letter from your company name. Use a distinct font and add a small graphic element if you can. The arrow in Amazon.com's favicon is a good example of this. Whatever your approach, remember that your favicon is your brand presence reduced to 256 pixels. It appears on valuable (if tiny) real estate online.

Nowadays, not having a favicon can reduce credibility. Remember, your favicon is often your visitors' first impression of your brand online. Make it a great one.

----------

John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world's first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.

Creating Sales Tools That Build Your Brand

When designing your marketing materials, know which elements you need to keep consistent to build a branded company image.

By John Williams January 04, 2007

If you’re like other entrepreneurs, you know a good logo is important to branding your company. Let's say you already have a great logo. Then what? You need to create a variety of marketing materials that'll help build your brand.

How can you do that? In a word: Coordinate. All your materials should graphically connect to one another. They should convey the same look and feel, include common images, and evoke similar emotional responses in your customers. When viewed side by side, your stationery, brochures and other promotional materials should look like a cohesive family.

Of course, your materials don’t need to match each other completely, but some elements should remain consistent from one piece to the next:

Color: Color is one of the most important components of brand identity because it plays a large role in memory retrieval. Choose a primary color (preferably a Pantone Matching System, or PMS, color--ask your printer about it if you need help) that’s appropriate for your company’s image, then use it as the dominant color on all your marketing materials. You can also select a secondary color to use as well, but make sure you use it sparingly. Preferably, the dominant color you choose will appear in your logo. You may find a book on colors and their perceived meanings helpful when selecting your dominant color.

Key Graphic Elements: Consistently use distinctive symbols, shapes and borders that convey the image you want to communicate. For example, a high-tech company might feature bold, angular graphics, while a clothing store might use rounded, soft shapes. Selecting some similar basic graphic elements helps customers recall your brand faster. Also, choose a photographic or illustrative style and stick with it. Black-and-white photos, for instance, are often a unique way to make an impact while setting your brand apart.

Fonts: Select just a few fonts for use on all your materials, including at least one primary serif font and 1 primary sans-serif font. (Serif fonts have “feet” at the bottom of the font, like Times New Roman. Helvetica is an example of a sans-serif font.) These two fonts should be the ones you use most frequently. Serif fonts work well in paragraphs and most text blocks, while sans-serif fonts should be reserved for headlines, numbers in charts, very small text and text reversed out of a color. You should avoid using more than two different fonts within the same document.

Messaging: The tone of your copywriting helps convey your image. Use the same voice on all your marketing materials. For example, is your brand friendly? Be conversational. Is it expensive or exclusive? Be more formal. It also helps to create a tagline or positioning statement--something memorable, meaningful and concise that summarizes your brand or your offering. Taglines often appear under a logo.

Logo Usage: Your logo is your brand’s most basic graphic element. It should appear on all your materials, and, when possible, it should appear at the same size and be placed at the same location on the page. Proportionate resizing is OK, but your logo should never be altered or redrawn. Consistency is paramount.

Remember, awareness and recognition are keys to growing your business. Creating a family of marketing materials that tie to one another helps differentiate you from the competition and builds brand loyalty.

-----------

John Williams is Entrepreneur.com's"Image & Branding" columnist and the founder and president ofLogoYes.com, the world's first do-it-yourself logo design website. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

5 Tips for Writing Quick-Read Copy

Want to keep your audience's attention? Here's how to keep it short.

By John Williams July 09, 2007

Click here. Buy now. Free trial offer. The world of advertising is full of short and snappy copy promising instant gratification. After all, most prospects simply don't have time to read thoroughly. They skim. They glance. But if you're betting they'll wade through long paragraphs of narrative copy, it's time to adjust your expectations. Your copywriting must be clear, compelling and to the point.

These days, the best copy is served a la carte, allowing readers to sample one message here, taste another message there. Which leads us to the most important rule in writing copy that sells: Make it "digestible." Rely on headlines, subheads, captions and bullet points--short snippets of copy with key nuggets. Long blocks of copy tend to overwhelm readers. If they snooze, you lose.

Here are five easy rules for writing copy for skimmers, scanners and at-a-glancers:

1. Match your copy to your visual (photo or illustration). Virtually all of us look before we read. If prospects see an interesting photograph, you've caught their eye long enough to at least coax them toward a corresponding headline or subhead. The message in your headline should always be the most important, preferably the key benefit of your product or service. If you use smaller inset photos, add short captions beneath them. Mix it up by italicizing the font in the caption; this essentially "tricks" the eye into seeing something different than more narrative copy. Try to embed a key message or two in the caption. Whatever you do, though, keep the copy block short.

2. Display your strongest message "above the fold." Prioritizing your messages may be one of the most challenging aspects of writing copy for your business. That's because you probably know your product or service inside and out and have so much to say. Just keep in mind that most consumers will only remember one thing at best about your product after reading your ad or e-mail. In fact, if you can get them to recall one benefit or feature and connect it to your specific brand, you've hit a home run.

So make sure you carry that main message in a headline and reinforce it throughout the rest of the ad. Also make sure to use your strongest pull in the subject line of e-mail campaigns and above the fold thereafter. (For example, online prospects should never have to scroll down on their browser to get to the meat of your message.)

3. White space makes your message stand out. It's a mistake to cram all sorts of information in your ad just because "there's room." Actually, there's not room. If a prospect's eyes are overwhelmed by large amounts of copy with nowhere to rest, nothing in your ad will get read. Most clients I've worked with in the advertising business constantly fight their tendency to overdo the copy, so be vigilant. Try to critique your promotional piece from a holistic view: If it looks too crowded, start editing.

4. Add a strong call to action at least twice. Like bookmarks, a strong and concise call to buy should be placed early in your promotional piece, as well as near the end. Be clear in how customers should contact you and always give your website address if you have one.

5. Focus on benefits, not just features. You've heard it before, but it bears repeating: People buy the sizzle, not the steak. Features are only a means to an end. What do the features of your product mean to the lives of your consumers? Will they be happier, healthier or have more leisure time? The main exception to this rule is with extremely technical audiences, who tend to be thorough readers anyway.

Finally, keep your sentences short and your style breezy, so your writing is easy to read and skim. When it comes to advertising copy, less is usually more.

---------

John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world’s first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.

Doing Well by Doing Good

For some social entrepreneurs, 'doing good' means helping others become entrepreneurs, too.

By Jessica Chen October 19, 2007

In June 2006, Bill Gates announced he was stepping down from his full-time role at Microsoft and shifting his focus to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When the world's richest entrepreneur decides to take a step in the nonprofit direction, he may be onto something.

In the last decade, a generation of social entrepreneurs has become increasingly visible by creating self-sustaining businesses. Social entrepreneurs are similar to regular entrepreneurs with one main difference--their gains aren't measured in financial profit, but by the impact they have on society.

Many entrepreneurs have started social enterprises, breaking nonprofit tradition by blending mission with money, referred to as "double bottom line" businesses. Jerr Boschee, executive director and founder of The Institute for Social Entrepreneurship, says for a while, nonprofits were hung up on the double bottom line because it seemed contradictory to merge doing well with doing good. But Boschee says self-sufficiency has become necessary for many nonprofit groups to operate. "We have today three times as many nonprofits as we had 30 years ago, and they're all at the same watering hole."

No longer limited by philanthropic donations and public subsidies, these organizations now have a way of being self-sufficient while still helping others in social need. And for some of these organizations, helping others means helping them start their own businesses.

Helping Others Get Started

Mi Kitchen es Su Kitchen is a kitchen incubator in Queens, New York, dedicated to helping struggling entrepreneurs start and develop food businesses. The kitchen offers business counseling, mentoring and support for entrepreneurs who have a line of goods, but are limited in funds and business knowledge.

"We go through the whole thing," says founder Kathrine Gregory. "How do you market? How do you write a business plan?"

The 55-year-old food industry veteran is an entrepreneur herself and offers her know-how by partnering with nonprofits that house kitchen facilities. In 1996, Gregory started her kitchen incubator concept with an organization that had an 850-square-foot kitchen in Brooklyn. The facility was being used for job training, but operation costs were quickly eating up the funding. Gregory convinced the board to let her test the kitchen incubator concept, and the resulting profits helped turn the nonprofit into a self-sustaining business.

Today, Mi Kitchen es Su Kitchen operates in conjunction with the Consortium for Worker Education and Artisan Baking Center. With a 5,000-square-foot facility, the kitchen is used for culinary arts training, general education and ESL courses during the day. At night the kitchen transforms into a bustling entrepreneurial atmosphere, complete with a dough press, chocolate melter, and a variety of mixers and ovens.

According to Gregory, most entrepreneurs at Mi Kitchen es Su Kitchen--who pay $180 to $220 per shift to use the space--turn a profit within the first six to 12 months. The revenue made from rentals has totaled about $200,000.

"People think this is an amazing concept," Gregory says. "It's really a win-win, everyplace that you look." She believes that leveling the playing field for low-income entrepreneurs is one reason her idea has hit home with the local community.

Kiva founders Matt Flannery, 30, and his wife, Jessica, also took the business partner angle with their Kiva.orgmicrolending website. The two started Kiva after traveling to Africa and learning of the enterprising atmosphere there.

"We interviewed people every day for weeks and talked about people's business plans," says Matt. "I thought it was fascinating that I was talking about business, business plans and scaling an inventory challenges in a place that I only associated with deep poverty."

The experience stayed with Matt and Jessica when the two returned to California and partnered with four others, working out of coffee shops and a tiny San Francisco apartment to develop the Kiva website and concept. Their goal remains showing people the business dynamic they experienced in Africa. "It was a different take on poverty, a different take on Africa than you typically hear when you're out here in the United States," Matt says.

On the Kiva website, lenders can donate to entrepreneurs trying to start a business in third-world countries. Loans start at $25, which goes a long way in the third world. The entrepreneurs pay back the loans 99 percent of the time--a remarkable default rate in the finance world. "[It's] connecting as an equal or a business partner, an entrepreneur, rather than as a charitable endeavor or benefactor or taking pity on someone else," Matt says.

And pity is something Matt says the media has thrived on for some time. "Often we want to hear about war and bloodshed and disease and that's only a small part of the story about what goes on in a huge continent like Africa," he adds.

Like Gregory, Matt also struggled to convince others about the viability of his idea. "One attribute of good ideas is that they challenge people's existing mindset," he says. "Now that I know that, I wouldn't have put so much weight in other people's opinions."

Why It's WorkingDespite some skepticism, "Social entrepreneurship is really taking off around the world," says David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and the Power of New Ideas, which has been translated into 16 languages. In his book, Bornstein chronicles the work of Ashoka, an international organization that helps fund entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to social problems.

According to Bornstein, the relentless won't-take-no-for-an-answer quality of entrepreneurs is what gives them their edge in business. "They absorb the failure, they learn, they surround themselves with a good team and then they redirect." These same attributes, when applied in the social realm, can result in community-changing solutions.

In the end, Gregory says it's the energy of the entrepreneurs she comes into contact with that sustain her in her business. For Matt and Jessica, being part of something larger than themselves has inspired them.

"It's not about me, it's not about my organization," Matt says. "It's about people connecting to people and using technology as a conduit."

The Art of Rebranding

Update a tired brand or create an entirely new identity with a smart rebranding strategy.

By John Williams July 03, 2006

There are just about as many reasons to rebrand a business as there are ways to do it. Some of those reasons are positive (two organizations have merged or a company has significantly expanded its offering), while others are less rosy (the current brand has been tainted in some way or has become outdated).

Regardless of the reason for rebranding, there are right and wrong ways to go about it. The first step is determining the extent of the rebrand, which will typically be determined by the reason for wanting to change market perception.

Partial Rebrand

In situations when a brand has been firmly established yet is simply outdated or needs to be refreshed due to the addition of new products or services, tweaking is required, rather than a full-blown rebrand. In these cases, you don't want to eliminate the brand value that's been developed over the years, but merely make subtle changes to update it or make it representative of an expanded offering.

Aunt Jemima is a great example of tweaking a well-established brand to update it. The image used for years on its products--an African-American "blue collar" woman--was simply out of step with today's mores. Rather than completely change the brand, Aunt Jemima updated the woman to reflect a more professional image.

Total Rebrand

Corporate mergers will often result in complete rebrands. When organizations have failed to establish a brand, or have been through any kind of scandal, total rebranding may also be in order. In these cases, the intent is to erase any previous brand identity and replace it with completely new imagery and messaging.

Sprint is an excellent example of a total rebrand, necessitated when the company merged with Nextel. The company eliminated the angular logo (and red corporate color) that seemed indicative of inflexibility and replaced it with a more fluid logo--placed on a cheerful gold background--that reflects the company's friendliness and flexibility.

Rebranding Advice

Not all rebrands are successful. Do you remember New Coke, for instance?
While it's impossible to know for certain what the outcome of a rebrand will be, you certainly can put yourself in a position to be successful by making solid decisions, beginning with building a brand-planning team. Trusted employees should be included, and perhaps even some valued customers, so you can receive external input.

Next up is reviewing the way the company operates, to ensure that internal processes and procedures are appropriate given the new brand messaging, or determine that they need to be altered in some way. Following that exercise, an exciting rollout needs to be orchestrated; employees must be passionate about the new brand, so they can generate passion in the marketplace. Every department should be involved, since rebranding isn't merely a marketing function, but a companywide endeavor.

Once the initial excitement dies down, it's important to sustain the new brand by instituting an ongoing program for measuring employees' consistent and complete use of it. Maintaining brand integrity within a company puts you on a path to market buy-in, which is the very reason for rebranding in the first place.

---------

John Williams is Entrepreneur.com's "Image & Branding" columnist and the founder and president of LogoYes.com, the world's first do-it-yourself logo design website. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

Logo Design Basics

Craft your logo carefully because what it looks like says a lot about your business.

By John Williams December 06, 2006

Your company’s logo will go a long way toward defining your brand, so the process to create it shouldn't be entered into lightly. Whether you choose to work with a design team or produce your logo yourself, you must be aware of how varying images, shapes, typefaces and colors will showcase your company.

The interesting thing about many of the most popular--and memorable--logos is they don’t all rely on the same element to generate brand awareness. The golden arches of McDonald’s use color and shape; Apple Computer relies on an image; and Coca Cola’s logo is typeface-focused. What this means to you is, you'll have some important decisions to make as you embark on the logo-creation process. And while there's no strict right or wrong way to go, you must think about what you want your logo to say about your organization before making any design decisions.

Industry Guidelines

While there are no carved-in-stone rules relating to the types of logos that should be used by specific industries, some general guidelines do exist. At one end of the spectrum are high-tech logos; at the other are logos for service-oriented industries; and business-to-business logos reside in the middle.

· High-tech logos are typically chiseled and angular--their intent is to create the perception that the company is innovative.

· Service-oriented logos are typically smooth and rounded--their intent is to create the perception that the company is creative and friendly.

· B2B logos can use components from both the high-tech and service-oriented ends of the spectrum--their intent is to create the perception that the company is stable and trustworthy.

As you determine where your company falls on the spectrum, remember your logo will be used for a variety of purposes—including company identification, marketing promotions and client development—so it must be attractive to a variety of audiences. And it must be innovative enough to provide immediate differentiation, making it memorable to your audience.

Design Details

The images, shapes, typefaces and colors you choose to use in your logo will, in many respects, define your company, which makes it all the more critical for you to complete the required due diligence before coming to any decisions. Here are a few suggestions to help guide you:

· Simplicity works. Your logo should be a clean symbol that's easily reproducible. Stay away from logos that contain a lot of information, gradation or fine details; these will be more difficult for people to recall and for you to print in smaller sizes.

· Use color as an embellishment. A well-designed logo should look good in black. That doesn’t mean you can’t use color, but the color itself should not be relied on as the major design element.

· Study the science of color and typeface. If you choose to employ color in your logo, you need to determine the appropriate color for your company. The same goes if a typeface is used in your logo; be sure the one you choose communicates the appropriate message.

During the design process, remember that you want your logo to be an element that doesn't change. It’s far easier to modify your marketing message than divert from an image that's come to represent your company. If you design a logo that's unique, strong, appealing and suitable for your business, you should be fine.

------------

John Williams is Entrepreneur.com's"Image & Branding" columnist and the founder and president ofLogoYes.com, the world's first do-it-yourself logo design website. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

Branding Trends: Delivery Channels Take the Lead

The hot ways to enhance your brand involve new media, but business branding basics are still in style.

By John Williams November 03, 2006

In looking at current business branding trends--and what might be around the corner in 2007--what strikes me most are not the tactics being used, but the mediums being called on to disseminate the messages. While you can’t ignore branding basics, you can no longer rely on traditional outlets such as TV, radio and print to get the job done; they must take into consideration all the new media at their disposal, including blogs, podcasts, mobile phone-based programming, social networks and RSS feeds.

Moving forward, branding success will depend on adapting to the rapidly evolving media environment and taking advantage of new opportunities to reach your target audience. Ongoing research into appropriate delivery channels will be critical to ensuring that branding messages are communicated in ways that resonate with specific consistencies.

Using “hot” media to spread your message will be especially critical for brands seeking to establish themselves with younger or more tech-savvy audiences, as these people are often the first to navigate away from traditional delivery methods. While this means it may be more difficult to determine the appropriate media in which to invest your branding dollars, it also offers a unique opportunity to more closely target your marketing efforts based on consumer tastes and interests.

Blogs are a great example of communication that’s typically focused on specific subject matter and/or directed to a well-defined constituency. By identifying blogs that are attractive to your target market, you have the chance to personalize your branding efforts like never before. Accurate research, combined with the ability to react quickly to new opportunities, will separate savvy branding campaigns from those that continue to rely on outlets that are less compelling than they used to be.

But let’s get back to those branding constants that will remain critical for establishing and maintaining brand awareness with your target audience. Regardless of the medium chosen for distribution, you must:

· Ensure your brand promise is clear. Be simple, be direct, and by all means, be consistent.

· Focus on creating a well-conceived brand name. Even the cleverest branding strategy will fall flat if the name you seek to brand is poorly conceived.

· Understand the competition. No one operates in a vacuum. While originality is important, it’s critical to be aware of your competitors’ branding strategies.

· Set branding goals. You can’t very well determine your success if you don’t have a benchmark against which to measure it. Know where you want to go and when you want to get there.

· Remain committed yet flexible. Branding success doesn’t occur overnight; it takes commitment to maintain focus and build loyalty. But that doesn’t mean strategy changes might not be necessary along the way, so be open to tweaking your approach as necessary.

What remains most critical in the branding arena is being consistent, especially as the variety of media options continues to expand. The last thing you want to do is send confusing or conflicting messages, and that can be all the more likely as you add variety to your media mix.

As we move closer to 2007, the elements of successful branding will not be all that different, but the proper use of evolving media channels will spell the difference between successful campaigns and those that fail to hit the mark.

---------

John Williams is Entrepreneur.com's "Image & Branding" columnist and the founder and president of LogoYes.com, the world's first do-it-yourself logo design website. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

Using Your Logo in Memorable Ways

So you've created a logo. Now what? Get it out there with these 5 creative ways to get your logo noticed.

By John Williams May 01, 2006

Building your brand encompasses a range of activities that are focused on a common goal: creating strategic positioning for your company. Many elements go into brand development including your copy style, layouts and colors, and core messaging. But perhaps nothing is quite as compelling, or can have as significant an effect, as your logo. Once you've designed your logo, your work has just begun; you need to creatively use it to ensure maximum exposure to your target market.

The consistent use of your logo on everything that emanates from your company is an important way to brand your company that shouldn't be overlooked. At its highest level, a well-branded logo can stand on its own to represent a company (e.g., McDonald's golden arches). That familiarity certainly doesn't happen overnight, but is a byproduct of the frequent, repetitive and often creative use of the logo.

The "Now" Generation

Given the age in which we live, the importance of logos has probably never been as high. We don't read; we scan. We don't research; we surf. We want information quickly, at a moment's notice, and we don't want to sort through meaningless data to find what we want. A logo can actually be considered a shortcut--a way to quickly memorialize everything your company stands for without infringing on the "now, now, now" aspect of today's consumers.

It almost goes without saying that your logo must be supported with strong messaging that represents your company's core values. An image alone only goes so far to define a company, but when it's combined with other brand attributes, and is "out there" on a frequent basis, the messaging ultimately seeps into the logo. Nike has done an excellent job of branding its swoosh, so much so that "Just do it" is synonymous with its use.

Logo Mania

Your goal should be to have a memorable logo that evokes your company's messaging, but you have to start somewhere. Even if your logo isn't well known, using it in creative ways will help build familiarity and generate interest in learning about the brand behind it.

Remember that the goal isn't necessarily to saturate the entire market with your logo, but to make sure your target audience gets a heavy dose of it. Be savvy in choosing opportunities and strategies that are relevant for your company. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

1. Sponsor industry events. Regardless of your industry, it's probably associated with a number of organizations and/or special events like trade shows and seminars that draw your competitors as well as potential partners and customers. Sponsorship opportunities can range from the very affordable to the obscenely expensive, with your company getting publicity based on its level of investment. It can be quite valuable to have your logo included on event banners, programs and other marketing materials.

2. Sponsor local sports teams. Organizations from Little League to weekly bowling leagues are always looking for support from the community. Determine which organizations offer the best exposure to your target customers and provide contributions--money, equipment and/or volunteers--in exchange for having your logo appear on their uniforms, scoreboards or other marketing materials.

3. Use promotional products...cleverly. Most people have plenty of pens and pads of paper imprinted with company logos. Almost anything you can think of can be personalized to promote your company, so be creative and put your logo on items that make sense for your product or service. Pest control? Think fly swatters. Sporting goods? Think Frisbees.

4. Incorporate your logo into your packaging and/or collateral. If your company offers a product, be sure your logo is prominently represented on the packaging. Definitely think outside the box; if you use tissue paper, for instance, order some imprinted with your logo. If your company provides a service, be sure your logo is prominently placed on all your collateral pieces and everything else you leave with potential customers, including business cards.

5. Mobilize your logo. You don't need delivery trucks to use vehicles as a way to publicize your logo. Have your sales team affix logos to their cars so they're a mobile publicity force. This is an especially valuable strategy if your company is located in an urban area where drivers are often caught in stop-and-go traffic, and thus have time to notice the vehicles around them.

Don't discount the importance of your logo as part of your brand identity. Remember that the swoosh and the golden arches were once unfamiliar to most people, but they're now images known to just about everyone...because they've been smartly branded.

----------

John Williams is Entrepreneur.com's "Image & Branding" columnist and the founder and president of LogoYes.com, the world's first do-it-yourself logo design website. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

The ABCs of Business Cards

5 tips for creating a professional business card that leaves a lasting impression

By John Williams June 05, 2006

Many people overlook the value of having a professional business card that accurately reflects your brand image, yet this small piece of paper can be an important part of your collateral package. It's often the first item prospects receive from you, so it's your first opportunity to make a strong, positive impression on them.

The preponderance of do-it-yourself online business-card printing companies is an interesting and somewhat troubling phenomenon. With limited exceptions, it's fairly easy to spot an inexpensively produced card. When you choose to "go cheap" on your business cards, what message does that send to those with whom you wish to do business? Are you really doing yourself any favors by missing out on the opportunity to start building a positive brand image right from the start?

Cheaper isn't always better when it comes to first impressions. Give clients a great first impression with these tips and tactics:

Design Tips

Tip #1: Enlist the help of a professional designer unless you have the requisite skills to design your business card yourself.Ideally, this person's also tasked with designing your other collateral (letterhead, brochures, website, etc.), so it'll be intuitive to carry your brand image through from those pieces to your card.

Tip #2: Keep it simple.Business cards are typically just 3.5" x 2" (except when they're not--see below), so you don't have too much space with which to work. Don't make your logo too large, don't make the type too small to be comfortably read, and don't be afraid to use white space.

Tip #3: Keep to the standard business card size--unless you're the adventurous type.There are things you can do to a 3.5" x 2" card to differentiate yourself (e.g., rounded corners), but going with an unusual shape can be tricky. A round card, for instance, is quite memorable, but it certainly won't fit in standard business-card holder devices. You must be willing to trade convenience for memorability if you choose an unconventional shape or size.

Content Tips

Tip #4: Be deliberate in choosing the information to appear on your card.What's most important? Your name certainly needs to be there, along with the name of your company (via your logo), your phone number and your e-mail address. Space permitting, you can add your physical address, fax number, cell-phone number and company website address, if desired. Don't clutter things up too much--as with the design, simpler and cleaner is always better.

Tip #5: Keep the back blank, or use it for non-critical information.How often will people see the back of your business card? Traditional card storage modes assume that side is blank. If you do wish to put copy on it, be sure the information is of a supplemental nature: e.g., your company's mission or tagline. While business cards should promote your brand identity, they shouldn't be confused with advertising.

The Bottom Line

Think about how you use other people's business cards when you make decisions regarding your own. Do you get frustrated when you can't quickly find the information you need? Or the type is too small to read? Or printed in a font that's hard to decipher? Do cheaply produced cards make you think less of the person or company represented? Does it take you a while to realize whose card it is, or what company that person works for?

Don't make those same mistakes when designing your business card. Make sure it's a positive reflection of both you and your company, and it mirrors your well-defined brand identity.

----------

John Williams is Entrepreneur.com's "Image & Branding" columnist and the founder and president of LogoYes.com, the world's first do-it-yourself logo design website. During John's 25 years in advertising, he's created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous awards for his design work.

Target the Right Niche

Looking for your niche? Here's how to find one that'll work for your business.

By John Williams May 24, 2007

It's a common misconception that if you're not casting a wide net with your marketing, you're leaving money on the table. Actually, the opposite is true. It's more expensive and usually less profitable to sell a range of products to a wide audience. Furthermore, if your product or service is too similar to a competitor's, price will always be an issue. When price is your only point of comparison, it's tough to build a successful brand. Targeting a niche market is a great way to avoid these issues and make your company stand out. But how do you find the right niche?

First, a broad category, like small-business owners, doesn't constitute a niche. A niche is a much more narrowly defined group of prospects. When finding yours, make sure it meets the following criteria:

1. Its members have similar needs unique to the market segment. You should be able to pinpoint common-denominator needs that differ from the needs of the rest of the market. Of course, these needs must also relate to your offering and industry. For example, attorneys may have unique needs when it comes to document copying, so if you provide copying services, it makes sense to target attorneys specifically.

Geography also plays a role. Market segments can vary dramatically among local, national and global markets, even within the same industry.

2. Your product or service meets these needs better than competing products. Your offering must be more attractive to your niche customers than other products in your industry. Offer compelling reasons to buy your brand that speak directly to special needs. These reasons don't need to be intrinsic to your product's features, they can also extend to aspects of your business like customer service.

3. You can market to these prospects economically. To attain a decent ROI on a modest budget, it must be relatively easy to identify and reach your niche audience. Direct mail is a common method of advertising, but your mailing list can make or break you. Find ways to first narrow your list to qualified prospects, then write your message directly to them.

4. The group is large enough to generate the amount of revenue you need to remain profitable. Remember, your niche must provide you enough customers to stay in the black. If it doesn't make sense fiscally, it doesn't make sense period.

5. Members aren't currently being targeted, or they aren't being targeted as well as you can target them. The best niche is one in which the competition is ineffectual or nonexistent. Find the overlooked niche, not the obvious one.

Determining your niche means asking yourself questions like, who will most likely use my product or service? What makes my brand special or unique? And why are customers choosing my brand?

As markets mature and competition increases, the demand for specialized goods grows. The more you differentiate your brand, the less competition you'll have and the faster you'll build brand equity.

-------
John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world’s first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.

Top 5 Business Card Blunders

Avoid these mistakes that could ruin your branding efforts.

By John Williams October 24, 2007

Nothing is more important to making a good first branding impression than your business card. In addition to the information included, a card's look and feel also sends a strong message about your business. That's why I'm perplexed by the many poorly designed business cards I see these days. Just because you can log on to various websites, "design" and print cards for free, doesn't mean you should.

The cardinal rule to creating a good business card is to ensure that it reflects your company's image. From a branding perspective, this means it should match the look and feel of your logo. Yes, you want your card to be unique. Yes, you want people to remember you by it. But if you break the cardinal rule in pursuit of uniqueness, all people will remember seeing is an unusual business card. They won't remember your brand or its attributes.

So in the interest of sparing you a potential branding misstep, here are the top five blunders I've seen new companies make when creating their business cards:

· Choosing low-quality paper stock. Inexpensive paper stock may save you money, but it often leaves you with a card that feels cheap. Touch is an important sense and plays a role in memory recall. How you appeal to this sense depends on your company's image. For example, B2B companies wanting to convey reliability should use a substantial, mid-weight stock.

· Using a design template that does not match the logo. Assuming you want a business card to be taken seriously and help brand your company, you need a design that works with your logo. In other words, be extremely careful with template-based designs. If the templates weren't developed specifically to match your logo--and most aren't--they probably won't. Many entrepreneurs fall in love with an over-designed template that distracts from their logo, or one that features an unrelated photograph. Photographs work well in marketing brochures, but if they appear on a business card, they will distract from your logo.

· Adding too much color to the card. When you want to get someone's attention, do you scream? Probably not, if you want to avoid scaring them. So why scare potential customers with a super-bright, rainbow-colored card? Color is your biggest asset in branding your company. Research indicates that color is the most important factor in memory recall. Tie your business to one or two specific colors; this color should also appear in your logo.

· Making the card too unique. You want your card to stand out, certainly, but not so much that its difference makes people uncomfortable. Complex dye-cuts, extremely oversized cards, and odd card stocks (like metal) should be used only by companies engaged in highly customized or creative endeavors. Custom embossing, rounded corners, or varnishes are better touches for most companies. While it's tempting to create an oversized card, keep in mind that many people still use Rolodexes or tuck cards into their wallets--both difficult to do with unusually sized cards. Function overrides form.

· Making the logo gigantic. In general, the bigger the company, the smaller its logo appears on business cards. If you want to look like a Fortune 500, size your logo appropriately. Instead of enlarging your logo for emphasis, employ white space to bring attention to it.

If you're looking to make a lasting impression, don't cheapen your first impression. Build a better business card and you'll build a better business.

-----------

John Williams is president and founder of LogoYes.com, the world's first and largest DIY logo website. In his 25 years in advertising, he has created brand standards for Fortune 100 companies like Mitsubishi and won numerous international awards for his design work.